AN: There's a pairing in this chapter that I probably wouldn't adore if I were reading this. It's a transient part of the story, but it's necessary. Finding the one takes time!

Unidentified remains were discovered early Thursday morning along the south end of the Konoha River. Crews have recovered the body, but DNA identification will take several weeks. Police indicated that foul play is likely, but have not given further information at this time. Anyone with information is asked to please contact the Konoha Police Department.

Friday, October 17th, 2017

Homecoming dress shopping with Ino had been an arduous affair for several reasons.

For one thing, Ino's family had a completely different level of wealth than her own. Sakura's parents did well financially, but it was on a wholly different scale. Even if the Harunos were that wealthy (which they weren't), they had pragmatic, Midwestern roots that prevented them from spending their money the way some of Sakura's friend's parents did. Sakura's mother would have never bought her the 595 Golden Goose sneakers Ino wore unceremoniously to go shopping. Sakura had to beg her mother for a pair of Nike's. Her mother insisted that if she weren't running daily, a discounted pair from Nordstrom Rack would do just fine.

On the way to shop at the boutiques, Ino had to drop off her Cartier tennis bracelet at the jeweler to be repaired. Sakura had done a quick Google search of the price and almost fell over when she saw how much it was worth. Sakura knew her parents spoiled her, but Ino's parents let her have just about anything she wanted.

When Sakura told Ino she couldn't spend much on a homecoming dress, Ino insisted she knew a few small boutiques with reasonable prices. Sakura should have known "reasonable" was a subjective term…

"Look at these earrings, Forehead," she said, picking up a pair of shiny gold drop earrings, "and look- 70 isn't bad for Kendra Scott!"

Sakura sighed. No way she could spend that on jewelry when she still had a dress to purchase.

In the end, Ino found a form-fitting black dress for 465, and Sakura decided to borrow one of Ino's dresses from her closet. It might be a little loose in the chest, but she'd deal.

Dress shopping had also been unpleasant for Sakura because Ino would not. shut. up. about Sasuke. She had eventually manipulated him into going with her, and Sakura was almost sure she was doing it just to provoke her. Every other sentence she uttered that week was brimming with innuendo. Regardless, Sakura was determined not to let her bitterness show.

She didn't want to admit to liking Sasuke. The one-sidedness of the situation was mortifying. Having feelings for someone who didn't even like talking to her was a blow to her self-esteem.

After a week of Ino's incessant Sasuke talk combined with cheer practice and rooming together, Sakura needed a serious break from her roommate. She had considered going home for the weekend, but with all of the homecoming events scheduled on campus, it just didn't make sense.

After they finished cheering at the homecoming game Friday night, Sakura decided to avoid Ino as much as she could at Kiba's party.

She drank too quickly as she darted to one of the less crowded rooms of Kiba's house. She was sick of it. She was sick of watching Ino's hands all over him. Sick of her flirting and stupidly long eyelashes. Even if Ino didn't actually want Sasuke, what if she made him want her? And how could she not? All guys wanted Ino Yamanaka.

Sakura had always had a healthy self-esteem. She usually felt pretty and smart and nice enough. Guys had had crushes on her in the past, and she knew Naruto adored her, but she was also realistic. Sakura was pretty, but Ino was a supermodel knockout..

Sasuke was aloof and didn't seem into dating, but he was still a guy, and if he were to fall for someone, it would make sense for it to be Ino. Could any guy resist her? Screw her and her long blond hair, perfect nose, and blue eyes. Sakura needed to get away from the hoards of classmates.

She gave a last glance to Ino, who was grabbing onto Sasuke. She caught Sakura's eye from the other room and gave her a suggestive wink. Sakura returned a fake smile and hurried away. She didn't want Ino to see her as she lost her composure.

She was overwhelmed. She was jealous, she was frustrated, and she was hurt. She knew Ino knew she liked him. Why did she have to do this? For her own entertainment. Sakura felt tears burn in her eyes, and she panicked, trying to get out of sight of her peers.

When she heard someone call her name, she cursed to herself. She turned around and saw Naruto and forced another smile on her lips. She could tell by his face that he already knew she was upset and her act was ineffective.

"Sakura," he said softly, closing the distance between them. She felt like she was suffocating. The effort of holding back her tears in a room full of people was too much. Like always, he read her face and knew what to do. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down a hallway decorated with first-place dog show ribbons until he found a guest bedroom.

The moment he closed the door behind them, she couldn't stop tears from rolling down her cheeks, but she was able to take a deep breath, knowing no one else was watching her fall apart.

One of Naruto's thumbs came up to her cheek and brushed a tear away. He studied her with concern and pulled her tightly into him so her head rested against his chest. Naruto never held back his affection, even if it was too bold or rough. He reminded her of a Great Dane thinking it was a lap dog, completely unselfconscious and unaware of his own crushing hold.

She never minded, though. She took another deep breath, inhaling his familiar scent. He said nothing for a minute or two. He held her to him and kissed the side of her head sweetly.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking up at him, wiping tears from her eyes, embarrassed that he had to comfort her.

"Don't be sorry," he said comfortingly. "Is it Ino and Sasuke?"

Sakura was somewhat taken aback. Naruto wasn't the most observant person, so the fact that he had correctly identified why she was upset was surprising and made her feel a little self-conscious.

"Oh my God, am I that obvious?" She groaned into his chest.

"Nah, not at all. I just know you. And I know the feeling." He said, smiling sadly down at her.

Sakura didn't want to think too hard about the meaning behind his words. She knew they held a painful connotation. Instead, she hugged him tighter and let him hold her while she let herself calm down.

Not for the first time, Sakura wished she didn't like Sasuke. Why him? If only it were Naruto.

Shikamaru observed from a quiet corner of the party as Naruto intercepted Sakura looking like she was going to burst into tears.

He'd watched Ino torment her the last few days under the premise of making Sakura admit to her crush. For whatever reason, Sakura didn't want to admit that to Ino, and she needed to give it up. He loved Ino and all of her crazy flaws, but she could be a piece of work sometimes. He sighed. He needed to get through to her before she lost one of her best friends. He was about to leave his quiet corner when Chouji approached him,

"Hey man, Sasha and Tenten want to introduce you to the girl you're bringing tomorrow." Shikamaru sighed. This whole date thing was so troublesome. He'd do anything for Chouji, but taking his almost-girlfriend's roommate's friend from home to the dance was kind of a drag. He'd hoped to spend Saturday night at his parent's house, under their deck, smoking weed, playing chess, or staring at the sky. Instead, he had to spend it with a bunch of people he barely knew. It was for his best friend, though, so he'd tried to be a good sport.

"Okay, that's fine. I need to knock some sense into Ino real quick, but I'll come find you guys right after."

Chouji raised a brow in question, but Shikamaru just shook his head. Pushing himself off the wall and into the crowd, he headed toward Ino. She looked tipsy but nowhere near as drunk as the night he'd watched her spill her guts in Kiba's bathroom.

As always, she looked hot. He tried his best not to look at his childhood friend that way, but he was only human. Sometimes he even thought she wanted him to admire her that way. She liked any attention she could get.

She was wearing that cheerleading outfit she couldn't seem to be torn away from and he could see why she kept it on. It fit her perfectly, showing off her legs, her toned stomach, and her arms- sun-kissed from cheer practice.

Shit. He really needed to stop checking his friend out. She was still following Sasuke around, and Sasuke appeared to be doing his best to ignore her.

"Ino," he said, getting her attention. She whipped around to look at him, splashing some of her drink on him.

"Yeah?" She said, taking a sip of whatever it was. The color did not look natural.

"Come here," he said, motioning her away from Sasuke. She frowned.

"What now?"

"Ino, you have to leave Sasuke alone." He pleaded with her.

"Says who?" She challenged, lifting a perfectly manicured brow.

"You're being a jerk to Sakura, and you know it." He looked down at her defiant face scowling at him.

"She's being a jerk by not admitting she likes him!" Shikamaru rolled his eyes. She was so difficult sometimes.

"Just give it up for the night. Let's go find Chouji."

"Fine." She snarled at him, looking angry. Whatever. It was rare that she wasn't at least a little mad at him.

Temari was sipping a beer casually, her best friend eyeing it with distaste. Temari didn't love it, but it would keep her from over-imbibing. She'd had enough experience with liquor to know it could cause trouble quickly.

Tenten and Temari had grown up in the same town. Temari was a year older than Tenten, so they had never interacted much until they both started playing volleyball. Temari had been in eighth grade, and Tenten had been in seventh when they'd first started playing together. It had only been three years since then, but they had grown very close. She missed her friend deeply when she moved to Konoha. When Temari had seen that her little brother Kankuro had an away game scheduled in Konoha, she made plans to tag along immediately. He rode to Konoha on the bus with the rest of the football team, but Temari drove separately so they could stay the weekend and spend time with Tenten.

Temari and Kankuro had both been a little weirded out by the prospect of going with random KPA students to a dance. Temari hardly enjoyed dances at her own school. She wanted Tenten to enjoy the social life at her new school, though, so she went along with the idea without complaint. Kankuro had been relieved when Tenten told him he could just go with her. They were in the same grade and had always been friendly with each other.

Temari was apprehensive about her "date." Apparently, Tenten didn't even know the guy. He was a random freshman who was friends with her roommate's boyfriend, and all she knew was that he played lacrosse and was the best chess player at their school. Why she'd care about that, she couldn't imagine.

So far, Temari had met Tenten's roommate and boyfriend, but not the guy she was supposed to go with. Her roommate was easy to get along with, and the guy she dated seemed sweet. They were an odd pair- she was tall and lean with dark wavy hair that hit her mid-back. She was outgoing and bubbly and seemed like she'd have a lot of friends. The guy, Chouji, was quieter. Friendly, but perhaps a little shy. He seemed a little dorkier than his date. Temari watched as he brought her Twizzlers and Jell-O shots beamed proudly at her as she ate them.

Okay, it was actually bizarre to observe. Kankuro looked a little disturbed watching the interaction as well.

She was relieved when her attention was diverted, and Tenten waved over someone she knew. A girl with dark, shiny hair and big lavender eyes hugged Tenten.

"Hey Hinata," she smiled, "This is my best friend from Suna, Temari, and her brother Kankuro."

Temari could tell by her greeting that the girl was shy, so Temari tried her best to be friendly. She had been told that she could come off as "intimidating" and "unapproachable." Whatever.

"Thank you for agreeing to go with Lee, Hinata." Tenten said quietly, "I think you really cheered him up." Hinata blushed lightly.

"He was very friendly," her voice was quiet and soft.

Sasha took Chouji's hand, and they moved closer to the rest of the group to greet Hinata.

"Chouji, why don't you go find Shikamaru so Temari can meet her date for tomorrow," Sasha suggested giving his hand a squeeze. He nodded and walked away, leaving the four girls and Kankuro alone.

"So Ten," Temari started, "there must have been someone you would have rather gone with than this idiot," she said, nudging her brother.

"Yeah right," he interjected good-naturedly, "Tenten's been dreaming of going to the dance with me."

"You wish," Temari snorted.

"I'm excited to go with Kankuro," Tenten said, obviously just being a good sport. At least, she hoped her friend wasn't too excited to go with her brother.

"I know who Tenten would have wanted to go with," Sasha said with a sly smile teasingly. Temari watched as Tenten's eyes widened, and she tried to make eye contact with her roommate.

Sasha lowered her voice and leaned into the group, "There's this guy she's got a love-hate relationship going on with…."

"Sasha!" Tenten interjected, making a subtle motion over to the dark-haired girl in the group. Temari couldn't gather what the girl had to do with anything.

Tenten looked beyond relieved when she saw Chouji return, ending the conversation about her mystery crush. He let them know Shikamaru would be coming over in a few minutes, but he pointed him out on the other side of the room. He was standing with a gorgeous blonde cheerleader, and from the looks of it, they were arguing.

Temari took in her date with more interest than she expected. He didn't look like a freshman to her. He looked closer to her age. He was tall and must have been the type of guy who started growing facial hair young despite being cleanly shaven. She wondered what his relationship was with the girl.

When the quarreling pair stalked up to the group a few minutes later, Chouji introduced them to his friends Shikamaru and Ino. She rolled her eyes when she saw her brother check the blonde out in the most obvious, distasteful way possible. What a pig.

Shikamaru greeted her politely, and she thanked him for making it possible for her to spend time on campus with Tenten.

"I promise I'll pay you for the ticket, by the way," Tenten said as if she hadn't thought about it before.

"Nah," he said, putting both hands in his pockets, "I don't mind. No girl should have to pay for her own ticket."

Temari raised a brow. She couldn't decide if she was touched by his generosity or annoyed by his antiquated presumption that she needed a guy to pay for her. She plastered a smile on her face regardless. Again, she reminded herself that she did want to be "unapproachable."

Ino was beginning to zone out of Tenten and Shikamaru's conversation when she saw the guy named Kankuro sidle up next to her.

"So," he started glancing at Shikamaru, "Should I be worried about your friend over there taking my sister to the dance tomorrow?" Ino laughed internally at the thought. Shikamaru was about as seductive as a tablecloth. He had nothing to worry about. She laughed,

"Trust me. I've got him under my little finger. If he gets out of line, I'll take care of it." He smirked and glanced over at their topic of discussion again.

"You guys have something going on?" He asked casually with a little bit of concern on his face. He was probably worried about his sister.

"Absolutely not," Ino said, laughing aloud at the idea. "We're just old friends. Our dads have worked together since we were born. You can trust him." She added, feeling like she should reassure the guy a little bit.

He nodded and directed all his attention to her. She watched him run his eyes over her cheer outfit and smirk,

"I don't know that you guys cheered hard enough; your players were a little weak," he teased. Ino remembered he had played for the other team earlier in tonight's game, and she pretended to be offended.

"I forgot I was standing with the enemy," she laughed lightly, looking him over. He was cute. Not the hottest guy she'd ever laid eyes on, but he had an athletic build and a crooked smile. If she couldn't flirt with Sasuke for the night, she might as well have some fun with someone else.

He was looking at her too, and she could tell he was interested.

"Ino, right?" He asked, moving a little bit closer. She nodded at him, not minding the change in proximity. "It looks like you need another drink. Wanna go grab one?" he gestured to the other room.

Ino bit her lip contemplatively and spared her friends a final glance,

"Yeah, let's do it." She said, flashing him her perfect smile.

With new drinks in hand, Ino and Kankuro were able to snag coveted spots on a vinyl loveseat in a crowded room with dog pedigree charts decorating the walls.

"So you and Shikamaru looked pretty pissed about something when you walked over. Lover's quarrel?" The music was a little louder in this room, so Ino had to lean closer to him to hear him and reply.

"Like I said, nothing going on there."

She proceeded to explain how Shikamaeu had gotten on her for trying to get her friend to admit she liked a guy. Ino had, of course, told the story in a way to paint herself in a flattering, less meddlesome light."

"It sounds to me like he was just jealous you were flirting with another guy."

Ino rolled her eyes. "I swear, I just told you our relationship is very platonic. I don't know why you keep acting like something is going on."

Kankuro shrugged and took a sip of his drink." I don't know; it must have been the way he was looking at you."

Ino raised a blonde brow in question, "How was he looking at me?" She highly doubted Shikamaru had been looking at her with anything other than annoyance and exasperation during their conversation earlier.

Kankuro shook his laugh, "I bet you're so used to guys checking you out you don't even notice."

Ino pretended to have a shred of humility, "you're crazy," she lied effortlessly, "guys do not check me out that often,"

"They'd be crazy not to," he countered smoothly, giving her a crooked grin.

Ino looked down at her drink and managed to give him a shy look, even though she was anything but.

"You're a total flirt," Ino said with her mouth close to his ear, the music playing loud around them. She gave him a sultry look and he laughed at being called out.

"I'd be an idiot not to give it my best shot."

They were both drunk by the time she pulled him outside to the side of the house. It was dark, and they were hidden between the monolithic columns of the house and the tall gate separating the Inuzuka's yard from their neighbors.

She sighed when he pressed his lips against hers, gently at first. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him push her against the wrought iron fence and the thick ivy that grew along it. His hands started respectfully placed just above her waist on her rib age. He rubbed his thumbs over her small waist and dipped them under the tight polyester fabric of her cheer top. Feeling a little wobbly, Ino clung to his broad shoulders tightly as he moved his hands around her back and coaxed her mouth open.

When vines of ivy began to tickle her neck, he pulled her a few feet and pushed her against the side of the house instead of the fence, lifting her legs so they wrapped around his waist.

"You're really strong," she sighed against his mouth between kisses, running a hand through his hair.

He grinned up at her and pressed her up against the house a little harder, forcing their bodies even closer. The rough texture of the walls hurt a little bit, but she was able to drunkenly push aside the thought. He laced his hands through her hair and pulled her lips toward him again, kissing her greedily.

When he moved one palm to squeeze her hip and his lips moved to her neck, she heard herself let out a small, needy whimper. His lips pressed against her ear,

"What do you want?" He said in a low, strained voice. Her head spun a little with the adrenaline and alcohol, and she took a deep breath to clear her mind. It occurred to her that things might be escalating a bit, given their relatively public location. Anyone could stumble upon them at any moment.

As if to confirm her thoughts, she heard an exasperated voice from about fifteen feet away.

"Jesus Christ Kankuro." A loud voice scoffed, causing Kankuro to remove his lips from her neck. "I leave you for an hour, and you've already got your tongue down some cheerleaders throat. We're leaving." The voice said before she heard footsteps stomping away. She heard him groan in annoyance, and he let her feet drop to the ground covered in tiny garden pebbles.

"My sister…" he muttered, giving her a sheepish smile.

"Right," Ino nodded, still catching her breath—Shikamaru's date.

"Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked, and Ino thought briefly of her date with Sasuke.

"Maybe." She smiled, not dismissing him but not trying to sound needy. She hardly knew the guy, and she had a date with someone else. Someone else who was very uninterested in her and who her friend liked (whether she'd admit it or not).

"Cool," he said, leaning down to give her one last kiss before walking away, tripping slightly on the loose rocks. She heard him mutter an expletive or two before walking away, triggering a floodlight to turn on.

Ino blinked in the bright lights and straightened out her skirt and her hair. This night had not gone how she'd expected, she grinned to herself.

Since Ino had left him alone, Sasuke had finally felt relaxed. He had probably drunk too much trying to cope with her incessant touching and whiny voice. He had tried to ignore her advances like a parent might ignore a toddler's naughty behavior. She seemed not to care whether the attention she received was negative or positive, so he tried not to give her any.

He didn't know what caused her to stalk away, but he thought he saw Shikamaru drag her somewhere. He wasn't sure how he would survive tomorrow night with the girl, and he was furious with himself for caving and agreeing to go to the dance. He was sure nothing could make tomorrow worse than the clingy blonde.

Sasuke had been leaning against a wall observing the party for a few minutes now. He wasn't sure where the rest of his friends were, but he appreciated being alone for a while.

His sweet solitude was interrupted a few minutes later when Naruto and Sakura found him, the latter seeming unusually quiet. He noticed her red-rimmed eye and realized she must have been crying about something.

Growing up, Sakura had always been annoyingly sensitive, crying at the drop of a pin. It didn't surprise him that she'd be the type of girl to sob the second she had a sip of alcohol. Tonight was the first night he had noticed it, though.

"Where'd everyone go?" Naruto yelled over the music and voices surrounding them.

"I don't want to know," Sasuke grumbled.

"Well, I'm gonna get another beer. You guys want anything?" Naruto asked his friends. Sakura and Sasuke both shook their heads- a typical response for Sasuke but a quieter one for Sakura. He glanced over at her. Her somberness irritated him for some reason. Even though he often thought she was too bubbly, he preferred it to whatever this alternate version of Sakura was now.

"You're too sensitive." He said, sparing her a last glance. He could feel her eyes on him in surprise, but he didn't acknowledge them.

"You really know how to cheer a girl up," she muttered sarcastically. He smirked. He could even handle angry Sakura more than mopey Sakura.

"What did the idiot do this time?" He asked, maintaining an air of indifference in his voice.

"Naruto? Nothing." She shook her head, "I'm fine. I'm just tired. I want to go back to the dorms."

"Hn." He nodded, not knowing what to say. He wasn't sure what compelled him to offer, but he sighed and said, "I can walk you back if you don't want to wait for a ride."

She looked shocked that he would offer, and it was probably unusual for him. He was drunk, and she seemed annoyingly pitiful, so something compelled him to offer.

"I don't know," she sighed, "it's probably not very safe this time of night." He shrugged, unsure why girls were always so afraid of the dark.

"Who's your ride?" He asked.

Her brow creased, and a frown came to her lips.

"Ino." She muttered. After a moment, "You know what, on second thought, if you're ready to leave, let's just walk.

Once they started toward campus, Sakura's nervousness about the walk seemed to disappear, and instead, Sasuke became slightly uneasy.

Walking back to campus had been a drunken idea to leave the party early, but now he was feeling more alert and he wasn't loving it. Alone, no one would ever notice Sasuke in the dark. He blended in with the shadows- dark hair, dark clothes; he was quiet and moved quickly. He hadn't considered that Sakura would be like a walking bullseye until he saw some creepy old dude standing under a street lamp sneer at her lecherously. Sasuke frowned at her bright pink hair and short red skirt, and the top that showed her stomach. Of course, she would attract any degenerate who happened to be wandering the streets that night.

For someone who had been concerned only fifteen minutes earlier, Sakura didn't even seem to notice. She had brightened up and was prattling on about some drama with the cheer squad earlier that night. Her voice drew attention to them, but she kept talking, unaware.

"Sakura, shut up." He said, not once considering her reaction, just trying to make them stand out less. She was frowning now, looking hurt. They only had another block or two on the main road before they would be closer to campus. He grabbed her arm, trying to make her move faster.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked grumpily, looking confused that he was pulling her down the road.

"Do you have to wear that outfit all the time?" He whispered harshly, giving her uniform a pointed look. And did she not have a jacket? It was fucking October.

She looked down at her red skirt and top, frowning. "We had a game tonight. Of course, I'm wearing my uniform!" She said back to him, scowling, still making too much noise for his comfort level.

"Are you always this unaware of your surroundings?" He chastised, letting her arm go now that he had set a new pace. Sakura nervously looked over her shoulder.

"Is there something in particular about our surroundings I should be worried about?" She asked in a slightly quieter voice.

"You're drawing attention to us. Anyone could be out at this hour." He said, not interested in dragging out the conversation. He just wanted to go to bed and forget that he had to socialize with all of these people again tomorrow.

He could tell Sakura was frowning next to him, but he would do nothing to make her feel better. Having been in a family of police officers, Sasuke knew better than most that Konoha wasn't always as safe as it seemed. He knew it could be quite dangerous.

He just didn't know that in the last 24 hours, it had become significantly more dangerous for him.

AN: Any feedback would be helpful. As I've mentioned before, I haven't written for fun pretty much ever in my adult life, so this is all new.

We've got some drama coming up next chapter!